INTRODUCING THE AUTHORS - Funded by Doncaster Opportunity Area Co-ordinated by the SDSA
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2020
INTRODUCING THE
AUTHORS
Funded by Doncaster Opportunity Area
Co-ordinated by the SDSA
reading rampage 2020
introducing
Adam Baron
author of You Won’t Believe This
HarperCollinsChildren’sBooks
About the Author
Adam Baron is the author of five novels for adults, all
of which have been widely translated and dramatised
for BBC Radio 4. He is also an Associate Professor
in Creative Writing at Kingston University, London.
Adam’s first novel for children ‘Boy Underwater’ was
selected as Book of the Month by Waterstones, Mail
on Sunday and The Sunday Times, also as Book of the
Week by The Times and Daily Mail and has been voted
to become the first ever Toppsta Book Club text.
@AdamBaron5
About the Book
Cymbeline has to find the culprit (after he’s learned
what ‘culprit’ means). He’s also got to help his friend
Veronique, whose grandma is dangerously ill. It
seems Nanai has a secret, connected to her arrival in
the UK as a Boat Person from Vietnam, a traumatic
journey in which she lost her twin sister.
Can Cymbeline figure out the mystery
in time?
One thing is for sure: even the most
unexpected people can change your
life in wonderful ways . . .
INTRODUCING THE AUTHORS
reading rampage 2020
introducing
Andy Briggs
author of Drone Racer
Scholastic
About the Author
Andy Briggs is an author, screenwriter, graphic novelist
and conservationist. He has written dozens of books for
children and young adults from the Hero.com series
and the Villain.net to Tarzan and The Inventory series.
His writing includes movie projects such as “JUDGE
DREDD”, “FREDDY VS JASON” and “FOREVERMAN” for
Paramount Pictures, Spiderman creator Stan Lee and
legendary producer Robert Evans. He has worked on TV
projects for Syfy, Netflix, ITV and Amazon and is working
extensively between the UK, US and China. Drone Racer is his
newest novel.
@abriggswriter
http://www.andybriggs.co.uk/
About the Book
Drone Racer is a fast-paced, attention grabbing topical
novel. You guessed it…all about Drone Racing. Carson
and his friends love to race, and when they find a
discarded drone at a scrapyard, they can’t
believe their luck. But things are not what
they seem. There is more to this drone
than meets the eye... when they power
it up, it starts talking. What’s more, it’s
incredibly fast. This drone could really
enable the friends to make their mark in
the drone racing world, but someone wants
their incredible drone back, and they will go
to any lengths needed.
INTRODUCING THE AUTHORS
reading rampage 2020
introducing
Rachel Burge
author of The Twisted Tree
Hot Key Books
About the Author
Rachel Burge works as a freelance feature writer and
has written for a variety of websites, including BBC
Worldwide, Cosmo, and MTV. She lives in East Sussex
with her partner, son, and black Labrador Biff. She is
fascinated by Norse myth and swears she once saw a
ghost.
@RachelABurge
About the Book
Martha can tell things about a person just by touching their clothes, as if their
emotions and memories have been absorbed into the material. It started the day
she fell from the tree at her grandma’s cabin and
became blind in one eye.
Determined to understand her strange ability, Martha
sets off to visit her grandmother, Mormor - only to
discover Mormor is dead, a peculiar boy is in her
cabin and a terrifying creature is on the
loose.
Then the spinning wheel starts
creaking, books move around and
terror creeps in . . .
INTRODUCING THE AUTHORS
reading rampage 2020
introducing
Keren David
author of The Disconnect
Barrington Stoke
About the Author
Keren David worked as a news reporter and feature writer
before publishing her compelling debut YA novel, When I
Was Joe, while taking a course in Writing for Children at
City University. Keren now teaches the City University
course and is an editor for The Jewish Chronicle . Her
novels have won and been nominated for numerous
awards including the Carnegie Medal and the Branford
Boase award. Keren lives in North London.
@Kerensd
kerendavid.com
About the Book
Could you last six whole weeks without your phone?
Six weeks without sharing photos, without group
messages, without being kept in the social media
loop?
An eccentric entrepreneur has challenged
Esther’s year group to do just that, and the
winners will walk away with £1,000.
For Esther, whose dad and sister live
thousands of miles away in New York, the
prize might be her only chance to afford
flights for a visit…
But can she really stay disconnected long
enough to win?
INTRODUCING THE AUTHORS
reading rampage 2020
introducing
Ann Evans
author of A Little Secret
Badger Publishing
About the Author
Ann Evans is an award-winning author who was born and grew
up in Coventry. She began writing as a hobby when her three
children were small. Now that they are all grown up with
children of their own, Ann still loves writing. Her children’s
and Young Adult books tend to be mystery and adventure
stories, sometimes with a ghostly element to them, and
occasionally a bit of horror! She also writes high-low books
for teenagers with a lower reading ability. She also writes
romance and crime for adults – and non-fiction magazine
articles.
She loves to encourage other people to write well and runs classes as well as going into
schools to talk to pupils about books and writing. She is a Patron of Reading for a Coventry
senior school.
@annevansauthor
www.annevansbooks.co.uk
About the Book
Lucas likes to visit his great gran. She’s ninety and
in a care home. Her mind has gone. She
thinks she’s still a little five-year-old girl.
Lucas’s girlfriend, Kay, has no time for
the old woman. Until she and Lucas
go looking for a long-lost doll that has
been locked away in a wardrobe these
past eighty years.
How could they know the horror their
search would unleash?
INTRODUCING THE AUTHORS
reading rampage 2020
introducing
Mitch Johnson
author of Kick
Usborne Publishing Ltd
About the Author
Mitch graduated from the University of East Anglia with an
award-winning first class degree in English Literature with
Creative Writing.
He was inspired to write Kick while working in a sports
shop where he discovered a discarded, crumpled drinks
sachet left in a shoebox between a brand-new pair
of football boots. Mitch now works as a bookseller at
Waterstones, Norwich, and writes in his spare time.
@MitchAuthor
www.mitchjohnsonauthor.com
About the Book
Kick is a honest story about twelve-year-old Budi. Budi
and his best friend Rochy love football; they live and
breathe it, playing every chance they get. Time to enjoy
their favourite hobby is limited as they are forced
to work long hours in an Indonesian sweatshop,
making football boots. Budi dreams that the
boots he makes are meant for his favourite
Real Madrid player, Kieran Wakefield, and
dreams of one day becoming a star player
himself. But this is Indonesia and life is about
to get very, very real.
INTRODUCING THE AUTHORS
reading rampage 2020
introducing
Cas Lester
author of Do you Speak Chocolate?
Piccadilly Press
About the Author
Cas Lester spent almost 20 years at CBBC having a fabulous time
making award winning programmes, spending eight years
as Head of Drama Development, where she produced
programmes including Jackanory, Big Kids, Kerching! and the
Story of Tracy Beaker. Since leaving the BBC she has worked
as Development Director for an international children’s arts
organisation and as a freelance producer with BBC Learning
Zone. Now she’s having a fabulous time writing children’s
books. Her stories are inspired by children (usually her own).
Her writing is powered by chocolate (not always her own).
@TheCasInTheHat
www.caslester.com
About the Book
The story of two girls, one of whom is a newly arrived
refugee from Syria, who are determined to become friends -
even though they don’t speak the same language.
When new girl Nadima arrives at school, Jaz is delighted.
Finally she’s got someone to sit next to. The only
problem is, Nadima doesn’t speak a word of
English.
But Jaz isn’t one to let things get her
down. She soon finds a way to break
the ice with Nadima - by offering her
a piece of chocolate! And so begins a
very special friendship - one with trials
and tribulations, but full of laughter,
adventures . . . and more than a little
CHOCOLATE!
INTRODUCING THE AUTHORS
reading rampage 2020
introducing
Gill Lewis
author of Run Wild
Barrington Stoke
About the Author
Gill Lewis worked as a vet in the UK and across the world
before becoming the acclaimed author of several books
for children, including Sky Hawk and Gorilla Dawn.
Gill’s writing has earned her numerous awards such
as the UKLA Children’s Book Award and the Little
Rebel Award, and several nominations for prestigious
awards including the CILIP Carnegie Medal. Gill lives in
Somerset.
@gill__lewis
gilllewis.com
About the Book
Izzy and Asha need a space to call their own, where
they can practise their skateboarding away from the
Skull brothers and escape from trouble at home. But
the derelict gasworks where they stake their claim
already belongs to something else – a wilderness they
never expected to find and an injured wolf
that desperately needs their help. Can
they reconnect to the wild and save
the wolf? Or is their pack too weak to
fight much stronger powers?
INTRODUCING THE AUTHORSreading rampage 2020
introducing
Tom Mitchell
author of How to Rob a Bank
HarperCollins Children’s Books
About the Author
Tom Mitchell is mostly a dad, partly a teacher, and
sometimes a writer. Growing up in the West Country,
he settled in London after a brief interlude in the East
Midlands. How to Rob a Bank is his first novel, written
during the school holidays. He lives in the People’s
Republic of Orpington with his wife Nicky and sons
Dylan and Jacob.
@cakesthebrain
About the Book
Some people rob banks because they’re greedy. Others enjoy the adrenalin rush.
Me? I robbed a bank because of guilt. Specifically:
guilt and a Nepalese scented candle…
When fifteen-year-old Dylan accidentally burns down
the house of the girl he’s trying to impress, he feels
that only a bold gesture can make it up to her. A
gesture like robbing a bank to pay for her new
home.
Only an unwanted Saturday job, a
tyrannical bank manager, and his
unfinished history homework lie
between Dylan and the heist of
century. And really, what’s the
worst that could happen?
INTRODUCING THE AUTHORSreading rampage 2020
introducing
Tom Palmer
author of D-Day Dog
Barrington Stoke
About the Author
Tom had quite a complicated childhood – he had three dads
by the time he was 10. That’s why dad characters are really
important in his books. Tom is now a dad and has one
daughter and gets lots of ideas from things they do
together. One of Tom’s first jobs was working for the
Royal National Institute for the Blind, where his job was
to record books for blind students to listen to. Blind
characters are rare in books. That’s why Tom made
Danny’s dad in Foul Play blind. Tom had several other jobs
before he was an author. He was a milkman, worked in a
warehouse and one of his favourite jobs was working in a
bookshop (Waterstone’s). Tom also spent several years working
for libraries, where his job was to put on author talks and book
promotions. Tom likes to travel to new places to write his books and has been on family
holidays to Toulon and New Zealand where he got ideas for two of his books. Tom met his
wife in the Sahara Desert.
@tompalmerauthor
tompalmer.co.uk
About the Book
Jack can’t wait for the school trip to the D-Day
landing beaches. It’s his chance to learn more
about the war heroes he has always admired
– brave men like his dad, who is a reserve
soldier. But when his dad is called up to action
and things at home spiral out of control,
everything Jack believes about war is thrown
into question. Finding comfort only in the
presence of his loyal dog, Finn, Jack is drawn
to the heart-wrenching true story of one
particular D-Day paratrooper. On 6 June 1944,
Emile Corteil parachuted into France with
his dog, Glen – and Jack is determined to
discover their fate …
INTRODUCING THE AUTHORSreading rampage 2020
introducing
Jacqueline Rayner
author of No Escape
Badger Learning
About the Author
Jacqueline is the author of over forty books and audio
plays, including number one bestseller The Stone Rose,
the highest-selling Doctor Who novel of all time. She lives
in Essex with her husband and twin sons.
As a child, Jacqueline’s main interests were reading,
Doctor Who, Dungeons and Dragons and comedy.
Jacqueline briefly detoured into studying Ancient
History at the University of Nottingham where she spent
an awful lot of time waving around a rubber sword,
pretending to cast spells at other people who were
also waving around rubber swords, then did a PGCE in
History before becoming assistant to the now mega-famous Steve ‘Astrosaurs’ Cole at
BBC Books, where she remained as an editor for seven years. Shortly after joining BBC
Books, Jacqueline discovered that a company called Big Finish were planning to make
audio dramas featuring the adventuring archaeologist
Bernice Summerfield. After calling the producer Gary
Russell, and asking if she could write them for him,
(Despite having no professional writing experience
whatsoever!), he foolishly agreed. Jacquelines writing
career had begun!
@GirlFromBlupo
jacrayner.com
About the Book
Escape is the name of the game -
literally. It’s time for Paige and her
gang to learn their lesson in a school-
themed escape room. And it looks like
someone doesn’t want them to get out
alive...
INTRODUCING THE AUTHORSreading rampage 2020
introducing
Alexandra Sheppard
author of Oh My Gods
Scholastic
About the Author
Alexandra Sheppard was born in North London to a
Jamaican mother and English father.
When Alexandra isn’t writing teen fiction, she is a
freelance Social Media Strategist with experience
working on dozens of award-winning social media
campaigns.
Her debut novel Oh My Gods was published by Scholastic
UK in January 2019 and has since received coverage from
The Guardian, Buzzfeed and Refinery 29.
@alexsheppard
alexandrasheppard.com
About the Book
Life as a half-mortal teenager should be epic.
But, for Helen Thomas, it’s tragic.
She’s just moved in with her dorky dad and self-absorbed
older siblings - who happen to be the ancient Greek
gods, living incognito in London!
Between keeping her family’s true identities
secret, trying to impress her new friends, and
meeting an actually cute boy, Helen’s stress levels
are higher than Mount Olympus.
She needs to rein in her chaotic family before
they blow their cover AND her chances at a half-
normal social life.
Or is Helen fated for an embarrassment of
mythical proportions?
INTRODUCING THE AUTHORSreading rampage 2020
introducing
Lisa Thompson
author of The Day I was Erased
Scholastic
About the Author
Lisa Thompson is a children’s novelist and the author of the
best-selling The Goldfish Boy and The Light Jar. The Goldfish
Boy was a Waterstones Children’s Book of the Month and
was nominated for the Carnegie Medal, the Branford
Boase Award and the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize.
She lives in Suffolk with her family.
@lthompsonwrites
lisathompsonauthor.com
About the Book
Eleven-year-old Maxwell is always, always in trouble. Roaming the town with his beloved
pet dog Monster (who he rescued as a puppy from being
run over) as a way to escape his parents’ constant sniping
at home, he’s a menace to the neighbours and teachers at
school. While visiting an elderly neighbour, Maxwell comes
across a mysterious cabinet of curiosities and suddenly finds
himself erased from his life: it’s as if he’s never existed. Able
to walk around anonymously might be great at
first - finally, no-one is yelling at him! - but
he soon realises that he misses his old life
and, crucially, if he had never existed,
then he wouldn’t have swooped in and
stopped Monster the dog from being
hit by that car... Maxwell needs to find
a way to reverse his erasure, with the
help of his best friend Charlie and his
sister Bex, who need a whole heap of
persuading that this weird kid they’ve
never clapped eyes on is actually super
close to them in his former life...
INTRODUCING THE AUTHORSreading rampage 2020
introducing
Ross Welford
author of The 1,000 Year Old Boy
HarperCollinsChildren’sBooks
About the Author
Ross Welford was a journalist and television producer
before becoming a full-time writer. He lives in London
with his wife, children, a border collie and several
tropical fish. When not writing, he tours the UK talking
to schools, libraries and book clubs. He has appeared
on panels at literary festivals including Hay-on-Wye,
Cheltenham and Edinburgh. He has written Time
Travelling with a Hamster, What not to do if you turn
invisible, The 1,000 year old boy and The Dog who
Saved the World.
@rosswelford
www.rosswelford.com
About the Book
Alfie Monk looks like any other 11-year old boy, other
than a slightly odd dress sense and teeth that are badly
in need of a dentist. However, as the title suggests, he
is actually 1,000-years old: frozen in time through the
magic of precious life pearls.
He and his mother have managed to live
quietly for centuries, but when everything
Alfie holds dear is destroyed in a fire, he is
forced into the reality of the 21st century
for the first time. Determined to bring an
end to his endless existence, he sets out
on a dangerous mission to find the last life
pearl, before it is too late.
INTRODUCING THE AUTHORSreading rampage 2020
introducing
Tamsin Winter
author of Jemima Small Versus the Universe
Usborne Publishing Ltd
About the Author
Tamsin Winter grew up in a Northamptonshire village
where she spent her childhood reading books and
writing stories. She has also lived in different parts of
the world, including South-East Asia and the Middle
East, but now lives in Leicestershire.
She has a BA honours in English literature and creative
writing, and has taught English at secondary level for
over fifteen years. Tamsin is an author, mother, friend,
teacher, day dreamer and a secret sticker collector.
Tamsin also loves cats, doesn’t have a TV, is a vegetarian
and is slightly scared of butterflies!
@MsWinterTweets
tamsinwinter.com
About the Book
Jemima Small is brilliant. She knows more stuff about more things
than almost anyone she knows. Which means she should be an ideal
candidate to make it through the selection process for her favourite TV
quiz show, Brainiacs.
But being mocked by bullies and selected for the school’s
healthy lifestyle group (aka Fat Club) have made her feel
invisible. After all, why on earth would anyone want to
watch a girl as big as her on TV?
Jemima’s journey towards self-acceptance is
painful and takes every ounce of courage she can
muster but, with the help of her best friend and
an inspirational adult, she might just get there.
Jemima’s story should be compulsory reading for
anyone who has thought to judge someone else
for their size, appearance, intellect or anything
else. Fighting bullying and discrimination is
everyone’s responsibility and books like this
help to encourage debate and achieve positive
outcomes.
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